Aberdeen v Hibernian

[The.Moog]

Much, much better.

Called out the wing back selections afore the game but fair play, they were both very good.

We won that game in the middle though. Even before the red, we were controlling it.

Aremu very good in the holding role today, liked what I saw. The rest of the midfield all put in a shift, pressed well, won second balls, good stuff.

Couple of goals for Nisbet too disna do ony harm.

Takes a bit of pressure off, but still work to do. Lets batter Killie next week then we can all relax a bit more.

Well done all today though…

Edited 23 hours ago by The.Moog

[THFN1983]

Finally an actual team performance!

Well done to all involved and hopefully there's no injuries before our next game as we have to line up the exact same way against Killie in a couple of weeks.

We win that then we'll go 8 clear with 4 games remaining. I think with that gap we should be safe from finishing in 11th spot.

[Jupiter]

Finally a win. We still need to get a proper manager for next season

[swaddon]

10 minutes ago, The.Moog said:

Much, much better.

Called out the wing back selections afore the game but fair play, they were both very good.

We won that game in the middle though. Even before the red, we were controlling it.

Aremu very good in the holding role today, liked what I saw. The rest of the midfield all put in a shift, pressed well, won second balls, good stuff.

Couple of goals for Nisbet too disna do ony harm.

Takes a bit of pressure off, but still work to do. Lets batter Killie next week then we can all relax a bit more.

Well done all today though…

We can't beat Killie next week, the game is in two weeks.

[Kowalski]

Good performance, well organised with a good shape. We actually looked like a team today. 
 

Bar a few careless passes Aremu was very good, really liking the look of him. Most of the team played well but Gyamfi worthy of a shout for a very decent performance. 

[BigAl]

Beat Killie in two weeks time, we'll be eight points clear and a right few better off in terms of goal difference and all but safe 

This of course will result in floods of tears in Weegie media head quarters

[RicoS321]

Not long back. A decent performance and a great result. Thought Jensen was actually our best performer, and obviously Nisbet. I'm not seeing what others are with Aremu, I thought he was slow and slow to get back and not particularly good on the ball either. Thought Cameron and particularly Armstrong were much better, but I still don't think that's a three you'd want to be playing. I like the idea of it, because it's a holding player with two in front, but I don't think any of them suit it particularly (especially Aremu). 

Special thanks to Grant Hanley for his classic, and fuck knows what the ref was watching. He was fucking terrible. Every touch was a foul and they took full advantage. It wasn't until Shinnie came on and threw himself to the floor that we worked it out. 

Anyway, it was good, a hard working performance with a decent shape. Nothing to write home about, but exactly what we need.

[dons8321]

4 hours ago, BigAl said:

How the fuck did that need to go to VAR for the decision

At least I suppose they got it right in the end.

Hibs bench were already getting their sub changed before DICKinson went to the monitor.

[2stars]

Thought Jensen and Aremu did well today- Aremu had a couple of poor passes but thought he moved the ball well and battled well to win the second balls. Frustrated at times when moving ball slowly across the back - Molloy for me seems afraid to play forwards and Milne struggles to find one of our players unless he has had 3 touches, but overall a decent performance 

Hanley at the World Cup should be interesting….

 

Edited 19 hours ago by 2stars

[OrlandoDon]

3 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Not long back. A decent performance and a great result. Thought Jensen was actually our best performer, and obviously Nisbet. I'm not seeing what others are with Aremu, I thought he was slow and slow to get back and not particularly good on the ball either. Thought Cameron and particularly Armstrong were much better, but I still don't think that's a three you'd want to be playing. I like the idea of it, because it's a holding player with two in front, but I don't think any of them suit it particularly (especially Aremu). 

Special thanks to Grant Hanley for his classic, and fuck knows what the ref was watching. He was fucking terrible. Every touch was a foul and they took full advantage. It wasn't until Shinnie came on and threw himself to the floor that we worked it out. 

Anyway, it was good, a hard working performance with a decent shape. Nothing to write home about, but exactly what we need.

It was Aremu’s best game for us, not saying he was great but I think to everyone he was better than anticipated. He actually looked somewhat fit. And while he gvae the ball away at times, I thought he was more mobile athletic and competitive today, plus on a good day at least gets his shot on target. For the role he plays, today is the first sign that he can actually play it. 
as poor as the season has been, nisbet has been interested and lively, two more goals as well. Perhaps a late add to the World Cup squad?? We’re not exactly fully of talented forwards, worth taking?

[STFU_Donny]

We’re back, baby!

[Jormungandr]

Oh, thank phvk for that. What a relief. Gives us hope that we can actually make 10th (christ....)

We looked like a football team today. Whether that was because we were playing a team with one man less, that's something we don't need to worry about right now.

A lot of things can be said, but I'm just ecstatic that we seem to be back in a positive direction now. Just get this season saved, and dealt with, and then we can be critical.

[Panda]

Interesting that after today, Hibs fans are questioning whether David Gray should stay or go.

I think the last seven teams to finish third, their manager left the following season. Gray looks like he might buck that trend, but maybe only because Jimmy Thelin essentially took his place to continue the natural order.

I suppose Gray has been solid enough for Hibs, but can see the frustration. Looked really impressive on their last trip to Pittodrie but have never really kicked on and looked a shadow of that today (albeit, were down to 10). Look a side capable of the odd big result but Gray doesn't look like he's ever going to take them up a level.

[TheDonbytheDee]

5 hours ago, Panda said:

Interesting that after today, Hibs fans are questioning whether David Gray should stay or go.

I think the last seven teams to finish third, their manager left the following season. Gray looks like he might buck that trend, but maybe only because Jimmy Thelin essentially took his place to continue the natural order.

I suppose Gray has been solid enough for Hibs, but can see the frustration. Looked really impressive on their last trip to Pittodrie but have never really kicked on and looked a shadow of that today (albeit, were down to 10). Look a side capable of the odd big result but Gray doesn't look like he's ever going to take them up a level.

Was in the Butchers Arms after the game and quite a few Hibees in.

They really don't rate David Gray.

They were at the Killie game last week and all said Killie were the better team.

To be fair, they were utter garbage yesterday and showed up how poor we have been all season. 

I honestly don't think it would have helped them much, if they kept 11 men on the pitch either.

 

[TheDonbytheDee]

I fancied us to win yesterday and we won and played well.

Got back to Aberdeen about 1:30pm and went into Aitches bar across from the Station, where they serve McEwans. Knew then we were winning.

A stroll down King Street in the sunshine, to Pittodrie fair got me in the mood for it.

We played well, every player worked hard and we seemed to keep a shape throughout the pitch.

Just keep that team, with maybe a tweak in the middle, for the remaining five games and see where it takes us.

 

Edited 10 hours ago by TheDonbytheDee

[TheDonbytheDee]

Was Joe Harper looking a little frail yesterday or just too many shandies before he came on the pitch?

The King of the Beach End banner looked good, with a few kids asking 'fas at', when he was on the pitch for it.

 

[Jute]

1 hour ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

Was in the Butchers Arms after the game and quite a few Hibees in.

They really don't rate David Gray.

They were at the Killie game last week and all said Killie were the better team.

To be fair, they were utter garbage yesterday and showed up how poor we have been all season. 

I honestly don't think it would have helped them much, if they kept 11 men on the pitch either.

 

That pretty much echos the thoughts of the spoon burners in my work. They have said for a while they are where they are despite Gray not because of him. They say Gray does not know how to use a talented squad.

[RicoS321]

1 hour ago, Jute said:

That pretty much echos the thoughts of the spoon burners in my work. They have said for a while they are where they are despite Gray not because of him. They say Gray does not know how to use a talented squad.

Like many teams, they've assembled a team of foreigners, with Hanley the only exception yesterday, in an attempt to sell on. I didn't see a significant amount of talent in their side yesterday, albeit Mulligan missing, and Bowie away. The difference between us and Hibs and the rest in-between is about one or two signings either way. Hearts, Falkirk and to an extent Motherwell, have built squads that require ongoing maintenance, whereas the rest of us are going from 8-10 foreign punts and hoping that a few hit the mark and become first team regulars. We've probably only got Nisbet that will be a starter next season. Maybe Mitov. The rest are positions up for grabs. Similarly Hibs probably only have McGrath and Mulligan (if he's still there) that will be consistent starters. Maybe the young lad up front too, looks to have something about him for future. The rest of both our squads are either average, or transitory churn. 

[GASC1980]

Delighted to be proved wrong yesterday as I couldn't see a win in us but a much better attitude yesterday and a gritty determination. Early pen and red card I think aided us. Beat Killie at home in a couple of weeks and we can surely then avoid the dreaded play off place. By no means getting carried away with yesterday but should hopefully gain some confidence and momentum now. 

[RicoS321]

11 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

It was Aremu’s best game for us, not saying he was great but I think to everyone he was better than anticipated. He actually looked somewhat fit. And while he gvae the ball away at times, I thought he was more mobile athletic and competitive today, plus on a good day at least gets his shot on target. For the role he plays, today is the first sign that he can actually play it. 

It was indeed his best game, but he didn't really come into it until they went down a man. He also looked better in the second half versus St Mirren than he did in the first, so perhaps needs time to get into the game. The biggest concern for me was that on more than one occasion he was caught staring and beaten by a really simple one-two round him, getting drawn towards the ball. It's the sort of thing Nilsen would have read with ease and walked away with the ball, so not down to fitness or ability, just reading of the game and positioning. It's a weird scenario, because he allowed us to play a nice shape, which greatly benefited us, but I don't think he really did the basics of the role well. A big downgrade on Nilsen and even Polvara in that role. Frustratingly, Shinnie can't play there either, and nor the rest of our squad, so we're left hoping that Aremu improves with fitness. 

[Ajja]

Aremu definitely benefited hugely from the red but even before it Hibs were incredibly passive and almost appeared to be easing themselves into a game they expected to control and win without getting out of second gear (fair expectation given our recent form). I thought their midfield was absent when 11v11 and I’m not sure that was down to us overly dominating, just their lack of energy and will to take hold of the game. Agree that him sitting in that deep role and effectively screening or breaking up play without being creative in any way was effective in that it allowed Cameron and Armstrong to look forward more. We were also aided by the red as our lack of width in the set up was balanced by the fact our FBs could be more ambitious with them being a man down. Gyamfi exploited that particularly well. Not overly confident he does that against 11 who are set to defend and make the game stuffy (Killie and StM). A lot to be happy about but with caution.